Whew. What a week. Our high school's homecoming is next weekend and we're in a flurry to get the last-minute accessories for the big event. We usually host about six couples each year and we're getting the menu finalized and nailing down who's bringing what. Like I said. Whew.
Had a semi-productive viewing week for television. The season premiere of The Last Ship didn't disappoint. I loved how much exposition they packed into small moments. I'm so excited for the next episode, even though we lost two of my favorite characters.
I caught the second episode of Birds of Prey. Also caught episodes of Pensacola Wings of Gold and Lexx. I'd forgotten what happened during the most recently watched Lexx. Now I need to see the next episode to see what the fallout was. LOL
Caught a classic movie on DVD, Crazy Love. It's a Myrna Loy / William Powell comedy and it was excellent!
Watched another episode of Strike Back. I'm beginning to like how the team is coming together and it was great to have some references back to the previous incarnation of Section Twenty.
Finally, I watched the next to last episode of season six Chicago Fire. I'll be interested to see what happens in the finale.
That's pretty much it. Caught the usual marathons of Murder, She Wrote and In the Heat of the Night along with a mini-marathon of The Saint.
Tonight's post is from Laundry Night, a sexy short that started with a writing community prompt of word cues… choking, laundry room, mismatched socks. Honestly, I had an image pop almost immediately.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Dixie Stores has a thing for her hot neighbor Neece Bovary, but he's heard all the rumors about her series of bad—and sometimes loud—breakups. Determined to win him over, Dixie breaks a cardinal rule and folds his laundry, mismatching the socks to get his attention, but gains the wrong kind when the innocent prank goes awry.
And a snippety peek…
Neece Bovary pulled into the small apartment complex and parked in the small unloading area. "Home sweet home for the next twelve months at least." The landlady wouldn't do anything less than a full-year agreement.
He got out of his SUV and went around to the trailer he'd towed behind. The movers had already unloaded the big pieces and stored them in the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. Neece had smaller stuff along with his headboard, which his dad made when Neece won his first hockey contract. Whenever he relocated, the piece of nostalgia traveled with him.
He grabbed the bubble-wrapped and blanket covered item and slid it out of the trailer then turned to carry it around to the front entrance. He cut through breezeway between the center building and the one on the right where his second-floor unit waited for his official move in.
Head down, he almost slammed into a gorgeous brunette dressed in scrubs taking the same shortcut. "Crap. Sorry. Wasn't paying attention." He set the headboard down and helped steady the pretty woman.
She laughed. "No, not your fault. I was actually digging in my bag for my key." She held up the black fob for a newer model car.
He wiped his hand on his t-shirt. "Neece Bovary. I'm moving into building one, unit four." He thrust his palm forward.
The beautiful creature gave him a wide smile. "Dixie Stores. I'm right below you." She grasped his hand in a firm handshake.
He glanced at the apartment under his. The small porch out front had loads of greenery and a lattice enclosure shading the colorful red-painted door. Planter boxes graced both windows with a mix of postcard-perfect blossoms.
Neece let go of her hand and nodded toward the building. "Great to meet you. I hope the movers weren't too loud this morning." He'd been several hours behind them.
Dixie shook her head. "Not at all." She started toward the parking area again. "Nice to meet you, too. Welcome to the complex." Giving him a waggle-fingered wave and a bright smile, she ducked around the corner of the building.
Neece picked the headboard up again. "What a looker." He headed toward the steps leading to his apartment.
A low, throaty voice stopped his progress. "Well, hello, handsome. Are you our new tenant?" A vision in a silk robe crossed the small courtyard in front of the buildings.
Neece propped the headboard against the steps. "Yeah, hi." He put his hand out again. "Neece Bovary."
The lady, probably in her early fifties, gave him a catlike smile and grasped his palm. "Fawn Denton. I live in the middle building." She held onto him a little longer than necessary.
Neece extracted his fingers from her and nodded. "Nice to meet you. Two lovely women in my first five minutes. That's gotta be a record." He flashed a quick smile.
A hint of malice entered her gaze. "What a nice compliment. But I'd watch out for Miss Dixie. She comes across as all sugar and sweetness but, oh boy, when it's time to end a relationship, she becomes screeching and obnoxious." Fawn's lips curved in a smirk.
Neece hated gossip. Always made him comfortable. He'd been on the receiving end too many times during the hockey season.
He grabbed the headboard again. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." He turned and started up the steps.
When he reached the landing, the older woman gave him a bored glance then walked back toward her apartment.
Neece shrugged and opened his door, easing the headboard into the apartment and propping it against the wall. Stepping back out onto his small balcony, he caught movement in the window of the unit next to Dixie's. Unwilling to meet anyone else at the moment, he trotted down the stairs and got back to unloading.
Neece only has part of the story from Fawn… but Dixie has an ally and he'll get the full truth in an unexpected way.
That's it for this week. Happy reading!
Skylin
